I just want to do my homework, damnit

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Syd Schulz

I finally started classes last week. Well, sort of. Technically half of my classes started the week before but somehow I didn’t realize that. If this sounds like a massive oversight, let me justify myself. The Universidad Nacional de Cordoba does not go out of its way to make what is, in my opinion (and I think you’ll agree), critical information, available. That’s assuming the information exists, which I’m not sure about. As far as I can tell, classes start (or don’t start) at the whim of the professor. Finding reliable information here is a little bit like panning for gold. It’s a lot of work, you get really dirty feet and even if you do turn up something shiny there’s a 75% chance you’re a fool. Continue reading →

Espinillas and traffic, riding in Cordoba

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Syd Schulz

Since I got to Cordoba a couple weeks ago, I’ve gone on a few mountain bike rides. These have been learning experiences.

Getting to trails requires about 45 minutes of what my riding buddy Martin calls “medio feo” or “half ugly.” I call it shit-fuck-scary. Argentine drivers don’t pay a lot of attention to lanes or common courtesies like not-merging-on-top-of-you. Red lights are also kind of a joke. Jaja. And then there are the busses, or colectivos, which like to assert their authority by passing you at a hair’s breath and then stopping. I’m slightly less afraid of them now that I’ve realized I can out-accelerate them 90% of the time, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them. Continue reading →

Alta Gracia

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Syd Schulz

Our program organized a tour to Alta Gracia, a tourist destination about an hour outside of Cordoba. Somehow I had it in my head that this was some sort of Jesuit ruin site and that there would be hiking involved. Both Sarah and I came prepared wearing sneakers and toting water bottles. Our first clue to the contrary was our guide’s choice of footwear, four-inch wedge sandals. It turns out Alta Gracia is a massive church and monastery built by the Jesuits in I’ve-already-forgotten-the-date-because-I’m-the-worst-history-major-ever. Continue reading →

Bureaucracy and Roses in Cordoba

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Syd Schulz

My life for the past week has been consumed by bureaucracy. This doesn’t make for very interesting blog posts. It also doesn’t make for a very happy Syd. In the past week, I’ve probably spent 5 hours waiting in line, 15 hours wandering around looking for information that doesn’t exist and several more hours meeting with people who actually don’t know anything. I still haven’t registered for classes, I still don’t have a Visa and I’m still pretty clueless. Welcome to Argentina. Continue reading →

I got a haircut in Argentina and lived to tell about it

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Syd Schulz

Two things of note have happened since I got to Cordoba.

First, three days ago, I moved into my new room in an apartment with an older couple in the center of Cordoba. Today, for the first time, I actually recognized my front door when I walked by. Everything in time. Second, I got a haircut. Continue reading →

Macky and Syd’s Great South American Adventure by the Numbers

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Syd Schulz

The great adventure has, like all great things eventually do, come to an end. Macky is attempting to catch a plane back to the US and I am moving into my new place in Cordoba. Time to be a student. Blah. The blog posts are probably about to get a lot less interesting.

I struggled for a long time to think of a way to summarize our trip, to encapsulate two months of adventure, mishap and love into one measly blog post. This is what I came up with. It’s not perfect. It leaves a lot out. But you’ll get the idea. Continue reading →

Megavalanche Patagonia

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Syd Schulz

I had never heard of Megavalanche but I guessed that it was something cool because when Macky saw the sign for Megavalanche Patagonia he almost jumped out of his pants with excitement. He spent awhile hopping up and down and babbling about glaciers and 7,000 foot changes in elevation until he remembered that neither of us have a long travel bike, a full face helmet or pads. This killed the mood for about half an hour until an email from the race organizer established that Megavalanche Patagonia isn’t quite like the real Megavalanche and “of course you can do it on an xc bike you don’t need a full face so glad you are coming to race it’s going to be awesome!!!!!!!” (Editor’s Note: This is a translation but the sentiment and punctuation of the original were preserved.) Continue reading →

“Propinas para la Family Von Trapp” and Other Stories from San Martín de los Andes

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Syd Schulz

San Martín de los Andes is a small town a few hours north of Bariloche. It’s definitely a tourist hub but the focus here is being outside. And this is not a surprise given the town’s location, surrounded on all sides by steep mountains and Lake Lacar, a beautiful icy-blue body of water. In the summer, people flock here to mountain bike, kayak, windsurf, etc. In the winter it’s the quintessential ski town, down to the Swiss chalet style architecture. Continue reading →

Driving the Loneliest Road in the World (Again)

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Syd Schulz

Calafate to San Martin de los Andes, 2,000 kilometers on Argentina’s Ruta Nacional Cuarenta (40). Dry, dusty prairie. Dust storms. Nothing but prickly grass all the way to the horizon.Winds so fast we could put Sparky (the car) in neutral and still be going 120 km/hr. Continue reading →